This is a porridge that isn’t a porridge, and it’s creamy without having any cream. Perfect!  Gluten and dairy free, it has a deliciously smooth texture and is a yummy breakfast for a cold morn.  With the warming spices – cinnamon, allspice & cardamom – it really feels like Xmas is coming, although it’s definitely not just for Christmas.

The original recipe is from Naomi Devlin’s fab gluten free cook book but I’ve changed some amounts and ingredients to work for me.  You can play with this recipe to your heart’s content.   Try stirring in roasted nuts to the final porridge, or using prunes instead of dates, seeds instead of pecans,  fresh berries or chunks of separately stewed pear…So many options!  

You can cook up a batch of the porridge and keep it in the fridge 2-3 days; I also don’t see why it couldn’t be frozen then reheated (although I’ve not had any leftovers yet in order to try this out!)

Butternut Porridge

(serves 4 with left-over topping you can refrigerate)

2 tsp coconut oil
2 organic red apples, roughly chopped
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
280g butternut squash, peeled and chopped into small chunks
1 heaped tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of cardamom
pinch of allspice
1/2 tsp vanilla

Crumble Topping

150g pecan nuts
5 tsp ground flaxseed
4 pitted dates, roughly chopped
1 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg

Top with dairy-free coconut yoghurt, or Greek.

Method

Melt the coconut oil in a pan and add the cored and roughly chopped apples.  Saute about 15 mins over a medium heat until they soften.  Add the carrots and butternut, lowering the heat and stirring for another 10 minutes.

Pour enough boiling water over the vegetables so they are just covered; not too much ot the blended result will be too runny.

Add the spices, cover and simmer for about 45 mins, topping up the liquid only if necessary.  Allow to cool.

Meanwhile, to make the crumble, put all the ingredients into a food processor and blitz until finely ground.  Add a couple of drops of water so that it just starts to form crumbs.  If you add too much it’ll become a paste, so be frugal with the water.
What you don’t use in this recipe can be kept in the fridge for 2-3 days to use as a topping on yoghurt  etc.

Blitz the cooled veg and any cooking water in a blender until smooth, adding the vanilla as a finishing touch.
Ready to eat!  Just serve with some of the crumble topping and, if you want, a dairy-free or Greek yoghurt. Yum at all times of the year!